New mugo

This one was collected by Horst Heinzlreiter this spring. It somehow found it's wy into my garden today.

Hunting for sabina junipers - part 4

These are two other promising ones.

Hunting for sabina junipers - part 3

So why all this bother? Well here some trees:

This is the best sabina juniper that I have ever collected. It had good roots and I think it will make it. Unfortunately the survival rate with sabians is very low in general. It took more than one hour to get it out.

Hunting for sabina junipers - part 2

Here the loot after four hours fo hard work. The cradle is very hady to carry the big trees. But again it is extremely dangerous to climb with it on the back. One easiyl loses balance and is quickly out of control with a cradle on the back.

Hunting for sabina junipers - part 1

In some areas of the Alps sabinas are not rare at all. Just like mugos one can find milions of them. But it is extremely difficult to find a good one. And ist usually is very dangerous to collect them. They love cliffs. The best trees are where it is the steepest. They are all the way up.

Here some impressions of what it is like. The lonely juniper was out of reach for me. It would be collectible, but I wuld really risk my life just climbing there. Eventually I will have to return with proper climbing gear and with a companion.

spruces - part 6

These two are in a very advanced stage. They will be stars very soon.

1) 60 cm, pot by Gordon Duffet
2) 75 cm, pot by Derek Aspinall
3) back side

the boxwood parade

This is a batch that I have imported last winter. These I have handpicked from several hundred already handpicked ones. They are all Koren boxwood, dwarf variety, Buxus microphyllum. They are all shohin size. Now this is very promising stock I think! Great fun to work wiht.
Pictures as of winter 2006 /07 and July 2007.

a darling shohin mugo pine cascade

Mugo pine, Pinus mugo, collected in Italy in 1995, only 18 cm high, pot by Horst Heinzlreiter. this sees to be rady for exhibit after the wire goes off next spring. Tow good sides again.

a small Scots pine

Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, from collected matrial. It was so unsightly for many years that I never bothered to take a pucture.

1) summer 2006, before
2) after plucking the needles and working on teh deadwood with chisel and fire.
3) wired and shaped, looks kind of strange and untidy. Well, it does not matter what it looks like rigth after first styling. It only has to look goood much later.
4) July 2007, not so bad after all

35 cm high, pot Chinese

a fat honeysuckle

This is a wild honeysuckle as they are faily common as understock in the lower Alps where the soil is Calcium mostly. It is Lonicera yxlostemum. This one was collected in Tyrol, Austria a few years ago. In 2005 I got it as part of a trade.

1) spring 2006 before
2) spring 2006 after
3) spring 2007
4) other side
5) July 2007
6) other side 45 cm high, pot Chinese

This is somewhat promising.